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Hoover Institute releases essays detailing nuclear power reinvention

The Hoover Institute of Stanford University released a series of essays that details an approach to nuclear power and how it can be improved.

A major facet of this is the design and implementation of smaller reactors. The essay proposes small modular reactors (SMR) as a way to bring working nuclear generation technology into a smaller format that would meet the needs of current power systems. If undertaken, authors of the series state that SMR technology could be the future of nuclear energy. Currently, nuclear energy is shown to be a dependable form of energy production that has little pollution associated with it, especially carbon emissions compared to oil and coal based forms of electricity.

“A review of the American energy landscape points to an opportunity for long term strategic thinking,” Hoover Distinguished Visiting Fellow James Ellis said. “As regulatory and environmental pressures mount against other energy sectors such as coal, a proactive national energy policy is greatly needed. The question that remains is what leadership role America is willing to play in successfully reinventing commercial nuclear power.”

The essay series was prepared by the Shultz-Stephenson Task Force on Energy Policy, which spoke with experts within the nuclear power field on whether nuclear energy would be a viable solution in the future of the U.S. power grid.

"At Stanford, we are seeing the research and development of such energy technology game changers on a daily basis," Hoover Institute Distinguished Fellow and Task Force Chair George Shultz said. "This project outlines a compelling case that new nuclear power can also meet these criteria and warrants a place alongside them."